Increasing the degree of automation in existing systems using OPC UA: flexible, secure and platform-independent communication
Industrial processes are facing major challenges to make production fit for the future. Communication via the standardized protocol OPC UA is one way of achieving this goal. The protocol transmits data between client and server and makes it available to other process participants – from fieldbus to cloud. With an experienced team, esd electronics enables customers to use OPC UA on all platforms and systems.
In the present case, the production output of a system in the medical environment was to be increased by additional quality checks in the process. For this purpose, the customer used a high-precision spectrometer to record product-specific data, which were to be made available to other participants in the production environment for evaluation and further processing. The ideal solution for a secure and efficient data transmission had been provided with the OPC UA protocol. The existing controller, a customized EPPC-T10 from esd electronics, ran successfully with the OS 9 real-time operating system from MicroSys. In close cooperation between esd electronics and the customer, an OPC UA server under OS-9 was integrated into the customer‘s application. In joint coordination, the customer‘s specific requirements for transferring large amounts of data from the spectrometer were introduced into an efficient data model. The flexible and reliable data transmission via OPC UA enabled a seamless flow of information between the systems involved and enhanced production output significantly.
Platform-independent architecture
Converting data exchange of an existing system to the open standard OPC UA under IEC62541 creates flexible, transparent and platform-independent architectures for the industry. In this way a standardized and secure communication becomes possible. Standardized interfaces enable easy access to a wide range of applications such as MES, SAP and ERP systems, databases and cloud platforms improving efficiency and integration in the industry.
Know-How Leadership
esd electronics has been developing industrial automation components since the 1990s. One focus lies on the use of real-time operating systems such as OS-9, QNX, VxWorks and RTX/ RTX 64. Linux, Windows/ Windows Embedded, however, are also used in many solutions. In addition to creating and adapting board support packages (BSPs) for inhouse and third-party hardware, the focus has always been on communication interfaces. This enables esd electronics to react to customer requirements at short notice and to integrate new communication technologies such as OPC UA quickly and efficiently. Thanks to a high level of customer focus and individual advice, clients today benefit from the experience of esd electronics. In this way quickly integrating new communication options in production-related networks becomes easy without interfering with the existing architecture. In addition to customer-specific development, esd electronics also offers a variety of standard products in the field of CANbus, PROFINET, EtherCAT and many more. Apart from these, esd provides an OPC UA Server for Windows, which makes the data of the CAN bus available as objects.
OPC UA Server for CAN Networks
The CAN-OPC UA Server from esd electronics enables simple, secure and platform-independent data exchange between CAN / CAN FD fieldbus devices and Ethernet-based clients. CAN frames and individual bits are mapped as objects to generate from the CAN data, OPC variables with precise bit length / position. Through flexible customization options such as authorizations, descriptions, and units the OPC variables can be optimally adapted to individual requirements. Here, the CAN data is mapped to single or multiple OPC UA variables using defined CAN IDs, bit positions and bit lengths as well as data conversion rules for different data types (Boolean, SByte, Byte, Int16, UInt16, Int32, UInt32, etc.). To define the OPC UA variables, additional options for structure and access can be provided. The data is mapped via an easily editable CSV file, which can be adapted with a common text editor or spreadsheet program. Each received CAN frame automatically updates the data of the associated OPC variables and contains information about the last received CAN message and the status of the variable. In the reverse direction, the configuration can be set in such a way that changing the data of the OPC variable will either lead to the immediate sending of a corresponding CAN message or the storing of the information and only sending it on request. This bidirectional communication enables efficient and flexible data transmission between the CAN fieldbus and OPC UA. The CAN-OPC UA Server for Windows supports fully integrated encryption and authentication of OPC UA communication. Thanks to its implementation as a Windows® service, the services can run without an active user. The OPC UA Server meets the requirements of OPC UA Specification 1.3 (‚Micro Embedded Device Server Profile‘, ‚SecurityPolicy-Basic256Sha256‘). Regular tests and updates ensure that the server always complies with the latest changes.
Integrating the IIoT environment
The OPC UA protocol respectively esd’s OPC UA server presents the gateway to an open yet standardized data exchange in existing systems on the one hand up to the IIoT environment on the other. To use this standard easily, esd electronics offers OPC UA Server both as a standard product for CAN as well as a customer-specific application on various hardware platforms and operating systems. Customers benefit from many years of know-how, which esd electronics shares in practice-oriented OPC UA-workshops, and by providing various real-time operating systems such as OS-9.
The complete technical report for download as PDF
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OPC_UA_Server_EN.pdf Complete report "Increasing the degree of automation in existing systems using OPC UA" 692 KB
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